AFC East Shakeup

The AFC East standings are nothing like expected. Although there has only been 5 weeks of football, the AFC East is the opposite of what was expected. Going into the season, the projected standings went like this: New England Patriots in first, Miami Dolphins in second, Buffalo Bills in third, and the New York Jets in last place. The Patriots projected record was 16-0 after coming off a Super Bowl victory. The Dolphins projected record was 7-9. The Bills projected record was 4-12. And the Jets projected record was 1-15.

After the first 5 games into the season, the predicted rankings are completely wrong. The Jets, Bills, and Patriots are all tied for first place with 3 wins and 2 loses. The Jets and Patriots were projected to have almost opposite records and after 5 games, they are tied. Who would’ve saw that coming? The Patriots are still expected to finish on top of the division, followed by the bills, and then it is uncertain who will have a better record between the Jets and the Dolphins.

The Dolphins are struggling this year. After 4 games the Dolphins are 2-2. After signing quarterback Jay Cutler, he has done nothing to help the team. The Dolphins offensive line is horrendous. Their linebackers can’t do their job. Special Teams is awful. The Dolphins need a lot of improvements. They are not supposed to get any better throughout this year, as I think they will finish last in the division. Ramon Elortondo, a junior at Woodstock and a Miami Dolphins fan said, “Jay Cutler has sucked the life out of our team and we desperately need to do something about it.”

The Bills are off to a hot start this year. As they were only projected to have 4 wins, they already have 3 wins in 5 games. They had a strong win against the super bowl runner ups, the Atlanta Falcons. The Bills defense is very impressive this year as well. Johnny McDowell, also a junior at Woodstock and a Buffalo Bills fan says, “I’m excited to see this team improving and starting off hot. It was awesome to see them beat the Falcons.”

The Patriots, one of the strongest teams in the NFL, led by Tom Brady, are not off to a hot start. Although they are one of the teams tied for first in the division with 3 wins, it is not very good for them. The Patriots had a chance at going undefeated, while 5 games in they already have 2 loses. They hope to gain their strength back and have Tom Brady lead them to another Super Bowl.

The Jets are already shocking the NFL with 3 wins in the first 5 games. It might not sound very good, but the Jets were projected to be the worst team in the league and had a chance of finishing the season without a win. But after 5 games, and a little bit of unexpected outcomes, the Jets are tied for first in the division. Let me say that again in case you didn’t hear me. The New York Jets are in first place in the AFC East, that is something you cannot say often. They have very strong running back and their defense has improved a lot. Last year the D line was strong but the secondary needed help, and they got that help with first round pick, Jamal Adams from LSU. The AFC East is very confusing to say the least this year and who knows what could happen